The Wedding
by ShortySC22
Summary: Part of the Power Stayed On series. Miles and Nora are getting married and when the Mathesons and Monroes get together, there's bound to be trouble.
1. Chapter 1

**This is Part 3 of my "The Power Stayed On" series. I want to thank avarosier and hithelleth for betaing! I'm glad so many people have been enjoying this series. I don't own Revolution, this is just for fun.  
**

_June 2022_

Charlie was excited to be a bridesmaid in her uncle Miles's wedding. She had never expected her uncle to get married and even if he did, she had never thought he'd be having a large traditional wedding. Granted, she knew the only reason they were having a big church wedding was because Nora's mom insisted. She had hoped that when Miles got married maybe he would have done the whole wedding-in-Vegas adventure. It was something Bass had always teased Miles about. "Just elope," he had said the last time Charlie had visited Miles for the dress fitting and to help out with some other details. After seeing how much work putting together a wedding was, Charlie vowed she was going to either just get married at the court or run off to Vegas or Niagara Falls, something much simpler than planning a huge church wedding.

Plus, with her parents now divorced and basically just getting along for her and Danny's sakes and her mom and grandfather refusing to go anywhere near her uncle Miles, it would make for a tense wedding, and who would want to ruin what was supposed to be the happiest day in your life? Since school had let out, she'd been spending her time in Boston with her dad and Maggie, whom she still couldn't quite get used to calling her stepmother, despite it being two years now.

At first, Charlie had wanted her dad to have a big wedding, because she had been jealous of her friends who got be junior bridesmaids, but after seeing how much work it was, she understood why her dad had simply got married at the court and taken the family out for dinner. Her stepbrothers Elliott and James were nice enough, she just didn't see them often enough.

One good thing about Miles's wedding was that the wedding party was small: just Nora's sister Mia as the maid of honor, Bass as the best man, her dad as a groomsman and her as a bridesmaid. Nora and Miles also didn't want all of the parties that went along with a wedding; no need for a bridal shower, engagement party, wedding shower, or bachelorette party. Bass wouldn't let Miles get away without a bachelor party, but even that was just them getting away to Vegas for a weekend before the wedding. The wedding was a week away and today's agenda was a trial run with the hair and makeup for Charlie and Nora. Mia wasn't able to make it out until two days before the wedding which left it up to Charlie to keep Nora calm. Mostly to keep her away from Bass, who seemed to take pleasure in getting Nora and Miles riled up over the whole wedding, since neither one of them wanted it.

As much as Charlie was excited about the wedding, she was not looking forward to having her hair pulled and makeup smeared on her face, but she knew that was what she'd have to do. After a tortuous hour, she supposed it was worth it when she walked into Miles's house and she heard a catcall as she walked upstairs to change into the bridesmaid dress so Nora could see how the whole ensemble would work. At least she had outgrown some of her clumsiness and would be able to walk in heels. She paused, trying to think who would have whistled at her. It was probably just Bass trying to tease her.

* * *

Connor was spending the usual few weeks at Dad's house for summer break, knowing that the first week would be interesting with Miles finally tying the knot with Nora. College was fun, but there was nothing quite like summer and he always enjoyed his weeks with Dad. Especially since Dad didn't seem to care about underage drinking and had, in fact, encouraged it most of the time. He was sitting in the living room watching TV with his dad when a hot girl walked past, someone he hadn't seen in the house before. He whistled at her as she sauntered up the stairs and earned a smack up the head from Dad. He rubbed his head as he turned towards Dad.

"Ow, what the hell was that for?" Connor asked, forgetting how strong Dad was.

"First, I don't want to catch you whistling at girls ever. But especially not that one."

"What's so special about that one?"

"I never thought my son would be that much of an idiot, but that's Charlie, Miles's niece. Remember her?"

"Shit. How old is she now? I haven't seen since she was a kid, I think the summer her parents divorced," Connor said, realizing he had put his foot in his mouth when he whistled at her. Great, because he knew Charlie was staying here with them until after wedding. It was going to be a crowded, house but since Miles had been staying at Nora's lately anyway, Dad offered to keep an eye on Charlie. Which Connor supposed was already not going according to plan if his son found her hot.

"She's fifteen, so way off limits for you, got it? Go mess with the girls at Georgetown or whatever."

Geez, Connor knew she was off limits just because she was Miles's niece and he knew she was younger than him but this girl definitely didn't look fifteen at all and didn't look like the little girl he remembered from years ago. In fact, he was surprised she didn't turn around to see who whistled, she just walked straight upstairs without a glance back. Now he knew it was going to be a long week; Dad would either drop this completely or tease him for coming on to Charlie, the one who was pretty much completely off limits.

A few minutes later, Charlie sauntered back downstairs, this time in the bridesmaid dress, which seemed to only make her hotter. Damn it, Connor thought, rubbing his head again where Dad had hit him. This was going to be a lot harder than he had thought.

"Where's Nora, she was supposed to be right behind me to make sure the hair and makeup went with the dress and heels? Hey, Connor, how've you been? Long time no see," she smirked.

She must have figured out it was him who whistled, except she seemed to look straight at Dad.

"Well, don't you clean up nice, Princess," Dad said, "Miles and your dad certainly won't recognize you. I can only imagine what your mom will say when she sees you."

"Didn't you hear? Mom's not coming, she made up some excuse about work," Charlie answered, probably hoping to get a reaction out of Dad.

"A likely story," Dad snorted.

"Seriously, where's Nora, I want to take a shower and get all this crap off my face," Charlie whined as she paced around the living room, glancing outside before huffing back towards the stairs, turning around, and repeating the exact same thing.

"You should leave it on, at least until Miles gets home. Should we take some pics and send them to your mom, show her how much we're corrupting you?" Dad said, while Connor wisely kept his mouth shut, not wanting to get smacked, this time by either Charlie or Dad.

"Like Mom really needs another reason to think you're corrupting me. She hardly lets me come here. You know the only reason I ever get a chance to come is because Dad lets me come without telling her. Considering some of the stories I've heard about you and Miles, it's a wonder I'm allowed to come at all," Charlie snapped back. Connor heard the door slam in the driveway and hoped that would calm Charlie down, whether it was Miles or Nora.

* * *

Miles knew the only reason he had agreed to this wedding was because Nora's mom was very religious and probably would have had a heart attack if she had known that he had been pretty much living at Nora's the last few months. He wanted to make Nora happy and Nora wanted to make her mother happy. He didn't remember Ben's first wedding that well and thought Ben had the right idea with the second one. Making Bass the best man seemed like a good idea at the time, but really Ben was the more responsible one and Bass just wanted to plan the bachelor party. At least Bass had offered to keep an eye on Charlie and let her stay at the house while Miles moved in with Nora. He couldn't believe it was only another week and he'd be settled down and married. Not that he had planned on being a bachelor forever, he just never imagined settling down.

He turned to look at Nora sitting next to him as they pulled into the driveway and he felt like the luckiest guy in the world. After Nora had dropped Charlie off, she had gone back to her place to pick Miles up. There were still a few last minute details to go over, final seating arrangements, coordinating who would pick everyone up from the airport and where everyone was staying. Miles couldn't believe just how much work went into this. He was also glad Nora wasn't the kind of woman to have been planning her wedding since she had been a child, it made planning this wedding a lot simpler when they both just wanted it to be about celebrating with their friends and family.

When Miles walked in the house, he saw Charlie pacing back and forth, but he had to do a double take to make sure that was really Charlie. If she hadn't been wearing the bridesmaid dress, he wouldn't have thought it was her. He looked at Bass, who was obviously laughing at his reaction, and Connor, who was trying to look everywhere but at Charlie. Nora walked in right behind him, told Charlie the look was perfect for the wedding and Charlie immediately ran upstairs to take a shower.

Nora gave him a quick peck on the cheek before dashing out the door. Miles settled in the chair across from the sofa and looked back and forth between Connor and Bass. They were hiding something from him.

"One of you start talking or I swear to God," Miles started, pointing his finger back and forth between them. Connor looked down at the ground as Bass continued to smirk. He knew Bass well enough to know whatever they were hiding wasn't something Miles particularly wanted to hear, but Bass was practically jumping in his seat to tell Miles.

"Oh, it's just that Connor didn't recognize Charlie when she walked in and whistled at her," Bass barely managed to get out between his laughs.

"I'd kill you, but it sounds exactly like something your old man would have done. You're still here, so obviously Charlie didn't think anything of it. Can I trust Charlie staying here for the next week?" Miles said, mostly glaring at Connor, but trying hard not to laugh at the situation.

"Yeah, I'm actually heading back up to campus this week. It's a friend's 21st, so we're celebrating before and after the actual day, since I still can't go out with them on that day," Connor answered, scowling at his father for selling him out to Miles right away. Then again, Miles could always tell when Bass was keeping something from him.

"You missed the look Charlie shot him when she came back down, I swear, that kid spends too much time here and has picked up your mannerisms," Bass added.

"I forgot to mention it, but the band's got a gig Thursday night. I know you're probably busy, Miles, but if you're free, Dad, and you don't mind tagging along, I can sneak Charlie in. If she wants to come, that is," Connor said.

Miles wanted to go along, he enjoyed going to Connor's shows when he played, but this week was just not feasible.

* * *

Bass was proud of his son for having his ambitions of studying political science at Georgetown, going on to a successful law school and entering the political front. He had the charisma for it, which Miles had always joked was inherited from Bass. Somehow, his son was smart enough to get into Georgetown, which Bass and Miles both attributed to Emma's genes. At the same time, he enjoyed playing gigs on the side. He was a halfway decent singer when the band was backing him up. Bass encouraged Connor to do whatever made him happy, as long as his studies came first. Of course Connor always threw it back his face that he didn't go to college, but Emma usually managed to steer that conversation back towards her own success.

Sometimes Bass wondered if Connor only even applied to Georgetown so he would have a place not terribly far away to crash, since there would definitely be fewer questions at his house than at Emma's. He still loved Emma, but he knew she was a slightly overprotective mother when it came to Connor. As his fatherly duty, he made sure to show up in support of all of Connor's gigs, but now with Connor asking him to drag Charlie into it, he didn't know how this was supposed to go.

"What's the age we're trying to make her pass for?" Bass asked, knowing some venues he played at were 16 and up, some 18 and up, and some 21 and up. If he was going to take responsibility for watching Charlie, he wanted to make sure he knew what he was getting into.

"It's an 18 and up club, just ask Nora to do her makeup, she'll definitely pass for at least 18 and I'm allowed to bring guests in the back entrance, this place is pretty legit, so we don't have to worry about selling a certain amount of tickets," Connor answered, glancing at Miles to see his reaction.

"You know the only person who will really freak out at us for agreeing to this will be Rachel. Ben will just shake his head and blame it on you or me corrupting her again," Miles said, "but ultimately it's up to Charlie."

Just then Charlie came from around the corner. "What's up to me?"

"Connor's band is playing in DC later in the week. I'm too busy to go, but Bass doesn't miss a show if he can help it. Only problem is the club's 18 and older so we'd have to sneak you in," Miles answered Charlie's question as she sat in the chair next to Miles.

"Hey, I didn't even know you were in a band, how come I don't have my free copy of your CD?" Charlie teased him.

"There's a bunch up in my bedroom, I can give them to you later," Connor replied.

"Sounds good. What day's the concert?" Charlie asked.

"Thursday," Connor said.

"Dad, Maggie and the boys are coming in then, won't they notice if I'm gone?"

"That's why I can't go, I've gotta pick them up from the airport and coordinate a few other airport arrivals. We don't have to tell your dad the entire truth."

"Nah, I heard the first part earlier. He probably won't care as long as one of you sticks to me like glue."

Bass agreed to that and got up off the couch to start figuring out the dinner plans. Chinese was usually a good option for everyone. It was made easier by the fact that they all had their standard orders and delivery only took fifteen minutes. When Bass started to place the order, Miles came in, signaled that he wasn't going to be there for dinner and gave Charlie a quick hug goodbye before running out the door, leaving Bass to deal with Connor and Charlie during dinner.


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks so much to everyone who has reviewed, favorited, and followed. I don't own Revolution, this is just for fun. Enjoy!  
**

**Special thanks to my beta hithelleth.**

_June 2022_

Charlie originally thought that she had been sent to stay with Miles to help with the wedding. Maybe her had dad sent her to visit Miles so she wouldn't torture her brother and stepbrothers. She was also beginning to suspect ulterior motives from Miles, as he seemed to have most of the wedding under control. To her, it seemed like she was here just to distract Bass, who was always an unknown factor.

Each day was followed by the same routine; either Miles or Bass would drop her off at the Metro, she'd take the Metro into the city and pick a new tourist spot. She was glad she had enough experience riding the L in Chicago and the T in Boston to be able to navigate the Metro and that her parents trusted her to go off on her own. She couldn't imagine being cooped up in the house all day by herself, since Miles and Bass still both had to work and Connor obviously had more important things to do.

On Monday, she had tried to convince Connor to come along with her to the zoo because she really wanted to see the pandas, but Connor wanted nothing to do with it and he had tried to warn her how much walking was involved. Of course, Charlie wasn't about to listen to Connor, assuming he was just being lazy. One thing she hadn't counted on was how miserable the zoo would be with the sun beating down on her and the fact that she had to walk all the way back to the Metro and then stand on the way back to the house, with it being rush hour, there were no seats. She ended up going to bed right after dinner and only waking up when she smelled the coffee in the morning.

On Tuesday, after walking around the Reflecting Pool, she was surprised to get a text from Connor telling her to turn around. When she turned around and saw him waving, she was confused. What was Connor doing there? He had told her he had no interest in doing any touristy stuff. Besides, how did he even find her? The city was huge and it's not like she had any sort of destination in mind when she left the house. The weather was nice and not too hot, so she set off for the memorials first, figuring she would check out the museums in the afternoon.

She waited patiently for Connor to catch up to her and when he did, he gave her a quick hug and ruffled her hair.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

"Everyone else is sleeping off last night so I figured I'd go out. Didn't expect to run into you."

"Don't lie, you give off the same cues as your dad. Now that you're here, what's your plan?"

"Want to check out the Air & Space Museum, maybe see the planetarium? We won't have Miles snoring in the middle like last time?" Connor chuckled and Charlie remembered that adventure, when she ended up kicking Miles to wake him up.

"Unless you'd rather save that for when your dad can come. He said he'd hang out with me all day Thursday and Friday."

"I'm not sure which one of you is the more responsible one," Connor said.

Charlie nodded in agreement as they headed down The Mall towards the Smithsonian. She still wasn't sure whether she wanted to go to the American History Museum, the Natural History Museum, or Air & Space Museum. She had done the Air & Space Museum several times now, but she always found something new.

Connor was babbling on about something but Charlie found she wasn't really interested in whatever he was bragging about, something about what happened last night. When he started to walk towards the Air & Space Museum, Charlie had made up her mind to save that for Thursday and to do it with Bass. She knew Connor would be busy all day, so she'd actually be able to enjoy the museum, as opposed to feigning interest in whatever Connor was talking about.

She grabbed his arm and pulled him towards the American History museum, eager to see the First Ladies exhibit. She found it impressive to see how fashions had changed over the years and always loved learning about each of the women. When she mentioned this to Connor, he scoffed and muttered about girls and their dresses. The exhibit was more than just the dresses, but she didn't bother trying to explain that to him.

* * *

Luckily, when they reached the museum, there wasn't a long line to get in and Connor wisely chose to follow Charlie, knowing she'd just do what she wanted anyway. He may not have seen her in years or recognized her at first, but he definitely remembered her. Between his own memories of Charlie and Dad telling him stories of her adventures with them, he certainly didn't want to lose her in the museum.

Of all the museums, Connor didn't think the American History Museum would be the one to cause him to tear up. Seeing the war exhibit and the brief mention of the war on terror brought a lot of emotions to the surface.

Connor knew Dad and Miles had served overseas and that was why they hadn't learned about him sooner. He wondered how life would have been different if he met his father sooner or what would have happened if his mom had married Miles. He didn't know how it wasn't awkward between the three of them, what with Miles and Dad living together, knowing he was the one who broke Miles and his mom up. On top of it, his mom was even coming in for Miles's wedding. And how would they introduce his mom and him to the other guests? "_Oh this is my ex-fiancée who slept with my best friend and this is the son that resulted from that_." Right, because that would go over well.

As he thought back about his parents, he noticed Charlie had wandered over to the Vietnam exhibit. At the Vietnam Memorial, people left gifts and tokens to remember their lost loved ones. The Smithsonian collected each of these gifts and put a select few on display in the museum. He walked slowly over to her and noticed her trying really hard not to cry. The letters in the display case were pretty emotional, so he had assumed it was just that until she finally sat down on a bench and started to talk slowly.

"Every generation seems to have their war. Sure, there's a bit of lull between some wars, but my grandfather was in Vietnam, my great-grandfather in World War II, Miles and Bass in Afghanistan. It makes you think, when will the next one be? Who will be our enemy?"

Connor didn't know what to say to her, so he just put his arm around her and squeezed her tightly. They had seen most of the museum by this point and it was getting late in the afternoon. He suggested getting some ice cream before she headed back to the house and she agreed. There were tons of carts selling ice cream outside so they ate their ice cream as he walked her back to the Metro.

As she got on the train, he headed off in the opposite direction, heading back to campus for another night of partying. He was almost tempted to skip the party tonight and head home, knowing that they'd probably just be watching movies that Dad insisted they needed to watch. There was a movie for every occasion and Connor only wondered what Charlie would be subjected to tonight.

* * *

Bass had a long day at work and had only hoped that Charlie would be agreeable to takeout again. He knew that Ben was big on healthy eating, but after spending the day filling out paperwork and dealing with bureaucracy, he wasn't in the mood to cook. He tried to remember if it was today or tomorrow that Nora and Miles were supposed to join them. If it was tonight, maybe he could convince Nora to cook, she was usually good at taking absolutely nothing and turning it into a great meal. When he checked his phone, he saw he had a message from Charlie.

"_Should be there in 15. Saw Connor today."_

Connor? Where did she run into Connor? He hoped she wasn't hanging out with him on campus because he did not need to explain that one. Bad enough they were sneaking her into a club to see him play later in the week, he didn't need her causing any more trouble. He was almost back to the house but he didn't want to keep Charlie waiting, so he turned the car around to go get her. Just as he pulled up to the station, she came walking out, all smiles. What happened today that made her all smiles?

As she climbed in the car, the phone rang. He glanced down and saw it was Miles. He picked it up with a gruff, "What do you want now?"

"Are you on your way back?"

"Just got Charlie. Why?"

Charlie poked him and mouthed, "who," pointing at the phone.

He covered the speaker and still whispered, "Miles." Charlie nodded at this and he heard Miles yelling at someone in the background, but he couldn't make out what they were saying.

"Nora's making dinner at the house and wanted to know how much to make. I told her it didn't matter because she always makes too much."

"We'll be there soon," Bass said, hanging up the phone without waiting for a response from Miles. He put the phone back down and looked at Charlie, who still couldn't stop smiling.

"Nora's cooking?" she asked.

"You heard?"

"Please, Miles isn't as quiet as he thinks he is. But I love Nora's cooking. I wonder what specialty she'll make tonight."

"I just hope she went shopping because we've got nothing in the fridge."

"You never have anything in the fridge. Except beer."

Bass thought about that statement and realized how true it was. He and Miles preferred Budweiser, and there was usually Blue Moon or Corona for Nora. There didn't seem to be a reason to keep too much food in the fridge. When he wanted to cook, he'd just pick up groceries that day. If he kept the fridge stocked, he found he wasted more food, especially since Miles was rarely home lately and was moving out officially next week. Even this week it was just Charlie and Bass at the house every night, since Connor was on campus all week, but then he will be on his own.

Bass drifted off into his own thoughts, wondering what it would be like to be alone for the first time. Sure, Connor would stop by occasionally and it's not like Miles was going far, he was only going to be a few blocks away, but they hadn't been separated in what felt like decades. They'd been in the Marines first and they'd had this house for nearly ten years.

He noticed Charlie twiddling her thumbs, as though she was debating saying something.

"Alright, are you going to tell me what's up and how you ran into Connor?"

"Connor found me at the Reflecting Pool. I walked up the steps to the Lincoln Memorial and was heading to the museums when he texted me. We spent the afternoon at the American History Museum. That's all."

"There's more you're leaving out."

"Uh, so Connor mentioned that before he got his license you taught him to drive in a parking lot. We're going to have some free time, do you think you can teach me too?" Charlie blurted out, almost too fast for Bass to catch it. He had to replay it in his mind several times before he understood what she was asking of him.

"What? No. Did he mention I taught him to drive in Jasper where there is almost no cop presence and between Emma and me, we still know most of the cops and could get Connor out of anything? I'm a cop here, I can't knowingly break the law like that."

"Not even for me? Even though you're going to sneak me into a club later this week?" she said, trying to use her sweet voice and the innocent puppy dog eyes. Yeah, not going to work on him today.

"That's completely different. We could just leave you home, if you'd rather not break any laws," Bass said.

"No, no, I definitely want to go to the club."

"Well, then ask Miles to teach you. Or manage to convince Miles to host Thanksgiving this year and when you go off hunting with Nora, she'll probably be easier to convince. That and you'll be pretty far out, so no damage to other cars."

"You really think that little of me?" Charlie asked.

"I don't want to be the one responsible for teaching you bad driving habits. You should convince your dad to buy you a stick shift and learn on that. Best way to learn."

Luckily for Bass they had pulled in the driveway and saw Miles's car there, which meant an end to this conversation.

As soon as he walked in the door, he smelled Nora's cooking and was grateful she had taken it upon herself to make sure he and Miles had home cooked meals often.

* * *

Miles didn't bother waiting for Charlie and Bass to get back before he started eating. Nora had made mac'n'cheese from scratch, fried chicken and corn on the cob, knowing that Charlie loved these foods. He was glad that Nora had got along well enough with his family and had taken Charlie under her wing, taking her out and teaching her survival skills.

As soon as Charlie and Bass came through the door, they both yelled at him for not waiting. When Charlie turned her back, he gave Bass the middle finger and shoved more food into his mouth. The last of the corn was finally done and Nora moved to set it all down on the table. Miles noticed that Charlie and Bass waited until Nora sat down before helping themselves, with Charlie sticking her tongue out at him. Hey, he was hungry, he was not about to wait for the two of them.

It was quiet at first since they were all hungry but Bass was the first to speak up, not that Miles was surprised.

"And guess who Charlie ran into today?" he started. "Ow!"

Miles figured Charlie must have kicked Bass under the table, but he couldn't imagine who would be in DC that both Bass and Charlie knew, that she also wouldn't feel the need to advertise at dinner. Then it dawned on him.

"What was Connor doing there?" he asked, pointedly looking at Charlie.

"I don't know. Seriously, I was just walking back from the Lincoln and I got a text from him saying to turn around. We spent the afternoon at the American History Museum and then I came home. Food's great Nora, thanks," Charlie said, as though she was trying to change the subject and failing miserably.

"You're welcome. What's wrong with Connor being there?" Nora said, looking back and forth between Miles and Bass. Bass was trying his hardest not to laugh and Miles just wanted to find out what the hell Connor was playing at.

"Surprised. He usually doesn't want to be caught anywhere near the tourists. Did you even tell him you were going to be there?" Miles asked.

"Not at all. I didn't even know where I was going when I set out. It's a miracle he was even able to spot me in the crowd."

"Back to the important stuff, Miles you're taking off Thursday to help pick everyone up from the airport, right?" Nora asked. She must have noticed how Charlie wanted to avoid the topic and as always, Nora would side with Charlie whether she was right or wrong, which drove him crazy.

"Yeah, Mia's flight lands in the morning, my mom and your dad get in a little after lunch, your mom is arriving in time for dinner, and Ben's getting here late Thursday night. They're all staying at the hotel next to the reception hall. Ben's picking up a rental car Friday morning so that he can help us run around. You typed the schedule, put everyone's cell numbers on it and what gates I need to be at. I think I've got this," Miles said, counting on his fingers as he remembered everything on the list Nora had given him and kicking Bass as he smirked at how whipped Miles had become. Miles loved Nora and was happy at the thought of spending the rest of his life with her, but he could do without the preparations leading up to the wedding. He was glad Charlie was here to distract Bass from annoying him too much.

After Charlie and Bass cleaned up the kitchen, their way of thanking Nora for cooking, the two of them started arguing over what movie to watch. Miles was used to seeing this; it happened every time. Bass always tried to think of a different movie to watch while Charlie liked watching the same movies. Except Ghostbusters because Bass would never let her forget the nightmares it spurred all those years ago.

As soon as they had settled on Animal House, Miles took his cue to leave, despite them both begging him to stay.


	3. Chapter 3

**Thanks to those who have reviewed, favorited, and followed. I'm glad you're enjoying this as much as I am. I don't own Revolution, this is just for fun**

**I want to thank my beta hithelleth for being so amazing.  
**

_June 2022_

Wednesday found Charlie wandering around the memorials and the Natural History Museum. As much as she enjoyed spending time with Connor yesterday, she was hoping she wouldn't run into him again today. She wanted to have some time to herself before the wedding guests started arriving.

Nora had agreed to help with her makeup for Thursday night after she had explained how badly she wanted to see Connor play. Charlie had put his music on her phone and had been listening to it nonstop while she walked all over the city. How had Miles and Bass managed to keep this from her? Connor was good, she was surprised that his band hadn't been picked up by some local scout or that he hadn't shot to internet fame. Either way, she was really looking forward to going to this concert after listening to Connor's CD. Especially since her mom would not have approved and her dad, however, probably would have gone with her. But, as much she loved her dad, he would stick out like a sore thumb, unlike Miles and Bass who still probably attended these places even without Connor playing them.

On Thursday, she had wanted to go to the Air & Space Museum, Miles had even encouraged her and Bass to go, but Bass had other ideas. He wanted to take her to Arlington National Cemetery to see the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and to give her a history lesson on the Civil War, since Arlington National Cemetery was originally owned by Robert E. Lee and the government had taken away the land as part of the South's surrender. When Bass had been telling her this, he waved his hands off and said it was more complicated than that, but she wanted to know more. For some reason, she was bored to tears during her history classes, but when Bass spoke with such passion about history, she was enthralled by the topic.

She had known about his obsession with the Civil War, she had just never imagined she'd get dragged into it. Once, when she had visited years ago, Bass had taken Connor off to Appomattox and then on to Petersburg and Richmond for some of the Civil War reenactments. They hadn't participated, but Charlie remembered not seeing Bass at all during her visit.

Her phone buzzed and it was her dad, telling her he was looking forward to seeing her tonight. Oops, guess no one told him she was going out later. If she was lucky, his flight would be delayed and he'd get in too late to show up at Bass's.

She had stopped thinking of the house as Miles's, he was gone most of the time and she had pretty much taken over his room this week. She didn't know how Bass was handling Miles moving out, they had been so close for so long and now Miles was moving on. She worried about Bass after overhearing a conversation between her dad and Miles, although, she probably wasn't supposed to know about what happened to Bass after his family died. She'd have to make sure to mention this to Connor, since she wasn't sure if he knew about the past and she needed to tell him that he should keep an eye out for Bass.

As they walked along, Bass gave her tidbits on all of the wars fought since the Civil War, except for the War on Terror. She noticed that Miles and Bass rarely talked about their time overseas but she didn't want to be the one to bring it up with them. Instead, she just patiently listened to him.

The one thing Bass insisted they not miss was the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Charlie knew how much this meant to him and kept quiet most of the day. She was glad he had insisted on seeing the changing of the guard, she was indeed impressed by it and only wished she had gone sooner.

After a long day of walking the cemetery, Charlie needed to shower before getting ready to go out. Just as they got to the house, Nora showed up, ushering Charlie to the shower first and then running around the house, muttering about Miles and her parents. Charlie caught the tail end of her complaints regarding Nora's feuding parents, something Charlie could relate to.

She sat still while Nora applied the makeup and did her hair, pulling it different directions, spraying it with who-knows-what, pulling various gadgets out her bag. Charlie only used basic make-up and wasn't used to this kind of attention. She just hoped it'd be enough to sneak her in tonight.

When she walked downstairs and saw Bass's mouth drop, she knew Nora had pulled it off. She gave her a quick hug as a thank you and dashed after Bass who had already walked out the door.

* * *

Connor had wanted to meet up with Dad and Charlie earlier. Originally they were going to see the Air & Space Museum, but they had obviously changed their minds because Charlie had sent him pictures from Robert E. Lee's house with the caption "Fun day learning about the Civil War, can't wait to see you tonight!" Instead, he spent the morning nursing a hangover and the afternoon practicing before their gig. This was the first time in a few months that they were going to play at this venue and he only hoped the crowd would be larger than before. They usually played on the off nights, but Thursday was a pretty popular night to go out, especially with the students who were attending summer classes.

He knew Charlie and Dad were going out to dinner before coming, since he wasn't starting until 9:30. He hoped they'd still get here relatively early, it'd be easier to sneak Charlie in and he also wanted to see them before he went on stage. His dad always managed to calm him down right before a big show. He thought about Dad and Charlie and their interesting relationship. He hadn't seen Charlie interact with Dad in years but the two of them seemed to have an odd bond that was somewhere between best buds and uncle/niece. Charlie was able to keep up with his dad and always had a comeback for him.

As he fiddled with his phone, a message came through from Charlie "look up." He did and was surprised she was able to sneak up on him. She smiled and he blushed. He'd have to thank Nora later, Charlie could definitely pass as 18.

"How did you get in?" he asked Charlie.

"One of your bandmates recognized your dad and let us in. I saw you first and I swear, Bass was right behind me," she said.

"I'm right here. Keep an eye on Charlie, I'm getting a beer. Want one?" Bass offered.

"I can look after myself!" Charlie said defiantly.

"Nah, I'm good for now. The band's just hanging out back, I'm going to go introduce Charlie to everyone."

He led her out back to where the bassist Jim was smoking and introduced her to the drummer Ryan and the other guitarist Mike. She waved to them and politely said hello, but he could tell she was a little overwhelmed by them because she stuck close to him. Not that he minded, really.

They headed back inside where he found Dad sipping on his beer, leaning back against the wall. The rest of the band walked up on stage to make one last final check while Connor walked towards Dad, noticing that Charlie quickly left his side and moved to be closer to Dad.

"Come find me after our performance, we're not planning on sticking around after our set," he told Dad while looking at Charlie.

"Sounds like a plan. We're going to stick towards to the back by the bar, so it might take a little while for us to make our way through the crowd. I can keep a better eye on Charlie back there."

"You make it sound like I can't handle myself."

"Not here you can't," Dad said, glaring at Charlie. Connor noticed the defiant look Charlie shot back and was almost envious of their silent communication. He watched the two of them disappear to the back of the venue and he jumped on stage to start the show.

* * *

Bass enjoyed Connor's shows and had to admit his son was getting better. They were mixing more original music in with cover songs and the crowd was responding more to their original music. In the beginning, the crowd only responded to the cover songs but now they were responding to the entire show. He was proud of his son and little blown away by his stage presence and ability to motivate a crowd. No wonder his band kept getting larger and better gigs.

He watched Charlie as she swayed along to the music, clapped, and threw her hands up. She was having such a great time, he was glad she had come along and was able to relax. She was usually so stiff when she first arrived but by the end of the trip, she was full of smiles and life.

The unfortunate part of standing back by the bar was that it was much easier to get more beers. Usually he and Miles would grab two to start with and just head off to either the right or left side of the stage, but that was not about to happen when he wanted to keep a close eye on Charlie. The dilemma was that he also had to drive home after this. He should have just taken the Metro, but he didn't know how late the show would go and wasn't sure when the last train would leave. He kept his drinking to a minimum, he was buying Charlie sodas and kept drinking water after he had some beers.

After the end of Connor's set, he headed off to the bathroom, telling Charlie to stick close to the bar and he'd be right back. He had thought about dragging her back to where Connor would be and having him keep an eye on her, but he knew they were busy unloading the stage and loading it up into what he dubbed "The Creeper Van." Of course Connor didn't see the humor in that, but the van was painted all black, was slightly dented, and looked out of place everywhere. Bass never offered to help the band take apart the stage, he figured it was their responsibility if they wanted to do this. Especially tonight, where his one goal in mind was to keep an eye out for Charlie.

When he got back, he saw Charlie still sipping on her soda, just as he had left her. Before the next band went on, Bass grabbed Charlie and they moved towards the back entrance where he knew Connor would be waiting. Charlie seemed off-balance as they walked and he couldn't figure out why. He had been the only one buying her drinks all night and she hadn't had a drop of alcohol. He did leave her, but only for five minutes. She stumbled again for the third time, and knowing she had grown out of her clumsiness for the most part, he became concerned. He knew there were benches where the band waited and he managed to get her seated. He kneeled down and looked her in the eye, noticing the glassy look.

"Charlie, look at me," Bass pleaded with her. Her head slumped down and he lifted her chin up so he could focus on her.

"Charlotte," he repeated.

"Yea?" she mumbled out. Good, he thought, she was at least still responsive. Now to see if he could get any other details out of her.

"Did you put your drink down while I was gone?" he said slowly and clearly, making sure she could hear him.

"To clap for Connor. He was good."

So she was speaking in simple sentences, but at least she was still coherent. He couldn't be sure whether it was drugs or maybe a strong amount of alcohol someone had put in her drink. He didn't smell anything on her breath, but that didn't mean anything. Whatever it was, he was taking her home right now.

At that moment, Connor walked in the back door and ran over towards them.

"What's going on?" Connor asked, kneeling down next to Bass.

"I left Charlie to go to the bathroom and I'm not sure if someone slipped her drugs or alcohol. Possibly she grabbed the wrong drink off the bar. She's a little dizzy and not thinking clearly. I'm taking her home now," Bass said, trying to be as calm as possible, when in reality he was freaking out. How was he going to deal with this? Ben's flight most likely had already arrived and tomorrow was the dress rehearsal. Not knowing what exactly Charlie had to drink, but assuming it was just alcohol, she'd be just fine. He hoped she didn't have any other reaction to what she had been drinking.

"Do you want me to come with you?"

"That's fine. I'm planning on watching her all night to make sure nothing else happens or that if she gets sick, I'll be there. It's my fault I walked away."

"Don't blame yourself. I'll watch her first so you can sleep because you know Miles is coming over at 8 AM."

"Don't talk about me like I'm not here. I don't need you to watch me," Charlie whispered, not even opening her eyes.

"This is non-negotiable. Connor, get the door, I'm carrying her to the car. Say goodbye to the band, we're leaving in 15," Bass said, lifting Charlie up off the bench and carrying her bridal style. He knew there was something wrong because she just settled into his arms instead of struggling, like she normally would. Connor held the door open and then ran ahead to get the door to the car. As soon as Charlie was in the car and the door was closed, she leaned her head against the window. Bass couldn't believe it was just alcohol that had done this to her but he didn't think anything else someone would have slipped her would have these effects. Connor sat in the back with Charlie while Bass drove home.

Once home, Connor again opened the doors while Bass carried a sleeping Charlie upstairs. Charlie stirred a little bit as he carried her, but she was still out of it. He debated waking her up so she could change into her pajamas, but he thought sleeping might do her some good. He tucked her into bed as Connor came in with water bottles and the bean bag chair so he could make himself comfortable.

"If she wakes up, get her to drink and maybe have her change so she's more comfortable. I think she just needs to sleep it off," Bass sighed, not wanting to explain this to Miles and at the same time not wanting to hide anything from Miles. Ben and Rachel didn't need to know this, but Miles would be able to sniff out he was keeping something from him immediately. Probably because Charlie had no poker face, the secret would come out even faster.

"I've drunk sat before, I got it. Wake you up at 4?" Connor asked and Bass looked at his watch, seeing that it was nearing midnight. Four would be a good time to switch, let him get enough sleep. Then he'd just have to sneak off in between the list of things Miles would give him to do tomorrow and take a nap.

"Sounds good. G'night. Oh yeah, you guys were great tonight," Bass said as he headed to his bedroom, leaving Charlie with Connor.

* * *

Miles wasn't sure what was going on. Ben had texted and called Charlie last night but she hadn't responded. He stretched the truth slightly and told Ben that Charlie and Bass had gone to see Connor's concert but definitely left out the part of needing to sneak Charlie in. He figured she just couldn't hear or feel her phone, but for both Bass and Connor to be ignoring their phones too? He knew Connor's phone barely left his hand, he was attached to it at all times. Then again, Connor might not be with either one of them, it wasn't unusual for him to not come home. And Bass? Maybe he was preoccupied, but he usually didn't let his phone go far so why wasn't he answering this morning? The car was in the driveway, so Bass was home.

He let himself in the house and didn't notice anything out of place downstairs, other than coffee wasn't brewing. Connor and Bass couldn't survive without at least one cup in the morning, which meant they were still sleeping. He saw Connor's door was closed shut, which meant Connor was home, so why wasn't he answering the phone? Bass's door was open, which was unusual, Bass typically kept it shut when he was sleeping when Charlie was staying with them. Miles peeked in, not knowing what he'd find in Bass's room, but it was empty. He spotted the phone on the nightstand, which explained why Bass hadn't picked up this morning, but where was he?

Miles didn't really want to wake Charlie up but she was supposed to eat breakfast with the rest of the family today. He knocked on the door as he opened it, which really didn't give the occupants a chance to wake up.

"What the fuck is going on here?" Miles shouted as he found Bass asleep in Connor's bean bag chair in the corner and Charlie still in her clothes from yesterday. Charlie rubbed her eyes as Bass jumped up and pushed Miles back into the hallway, closing the door behind him. Bass hushed Miles, but Miles still wanted answers and ran his fingers through his hair. The commotion must have woken Connor up, who groggily asked what was going on. Bass waved his hand and Miles just shook his head.

"Start talking, I swear to God, Bass. None of you picked up your phones, Ben's freaking out and why are you in my room?"

"Calm down. Let me get a cup of coffee and I will tell you what happened," Bass said, pushing past Miles and into the kitchen. Miles followed, not sure what Bass had to say.

"Well?"

"Concert was going fine, Charlie and I stuck towards to the back so I could keep an eye on her. I left her for five minutes, figuring she'd be safer where she was instead of having her wait for me outside of the bathroom because that would have been really creepy and drawn attention to her. I got back, and either she took someone else's drink or they put something in hers, she was dizzy and moving sluggishly. Brought her home and Connor and I watched her all night to make sure nothing happened. She's fine, if a bit more tired than usual. I'm thinking she just had a little too much to drink. We haven't let her build a tolerance."

"Bass, she's fifteen! Of course we haven't let her build up a tolerance, Ben would kill me if she turned out just like me."

"Alright, well, she's just sleeping it off. I'll be ready in 20 minutes for whatever tasks you have for me."

"Well, she's going to have to wake up. I'm taking her and Connor back to the hotel with me and hopefully Ben won't notice anything. You go pick up Emma at the airport in two hours and bring her to the hotel. I should still be there. I'll put Connor in charge of Danny, Elliott and James since Charlie is going to be keeping Nora calm. Ben's on Mom duty."


	4. Chapter 4

**Thanks to my beta hithelleth! Once again thank you to all those who left reviews, favorited, or followed. I don't own Revolution, this is just for fun. Enjoy! **

_June 2022_

Charlie woke up disoriented, not sure of what was going on. She thought she heard Miles's voice yelling. What had happened last night? She remembered enjoying the concert but did not know how she got home. She sat up and realized she was still in her clothes from last night. There was a water bottle next to the nightstand. How did that get there? It wasn't opened, so she wasn't going to question it too much and started drinking since her throat was quite sore. Probably from screaming so loudly at the concert last night. She moved to go to the bathroom and when she opened the door to the hall, she saw Connor leaning against the wall.

She was surprised to see him. Bass had mentioned that Connor usually didn't come home after his gigs. That's when she took a look back around and noticed Connor's bean bag chair. What was that doing there? Sure, she loved the chair and usually brought it downstairs when she was watching TV and there was no room on the couch, but why would it be here?

"I was just coming to check on you. Figured Miles and Dad woke you up."

"Check on me?" Charlie asked. Now she really wanted to know what happened last night.

"Here, first take some aspirin, it'll help. Finish the water too."

She listened to his directions and he waited for her to finish, tapping his foot impatiently. "Are you going tell me what happened and why you're home?"

Connor explained what happened and now she understood why the chair was in Miles's room.

"Well I guess I owe you."

"Nah, as long as you're okay, that's what matters. But you might want to go reassure Miles. He's probably ready to kill Dad."

Charlie nodded and headed downstairs, almost running into Miles, who was coming up the stairs. He told Connor and Charlie to both get ready for breakfast at the hotel. She quickly turned around to get ready for the day because she wanted to get to the hotel as soon as possible. Charlie was starving and she didn't have to guess if Connor was hungry, she heard his stomach rumbling from all the way down the hall. She was grateful Connor had given her the aspirin, she just wished it would kick in. Her head was throbbing.

When she walked past Bass on her way out, she mumbled a quick thanks, knowing he'd hound her about it if she didn't say something. Bass loved being recognized and acknowledged, something Charlie thought was a little egotistical of him, but she played along to keep peace.

She didn't want to see the disappointment in Miles' face, so she avoided looking at him as she hopped in the backseat of his jeep. Connor would have let her sit up front and then complain about being squished in the back the whole time, and she preferred to save herself the aggravation and another headache she didn't need.

The hotel wasn't far away and Charlie just hoped her brother and stepbrothers weren't too rambunctious this morning. Maybe she could just hide in the bridal suite with Nora and Mia all day. She hadn't met Mia yet, but Nora and Miles both talked about her fondly. Unfortunately, luck was not on her side this morning, as she ran into her grandmother first.

"Good morning Charlotte," her grandmother said.

Bass was the only other person to call her Charlotte when she wasn't in trouble, but he always said it in such a teasing way she didn't mind. But when her grandmother did it, she felt annoyed and wanted to walk away from the conversation. She took a deep breath, knowing how much playing nice with her grandmother meant to Miles.

"Good morning Grandma, how are you?"

"I'm doing well this morning. I see you're a little late, oversleep much?"

Ah, there were the snide comments her grandmother was famous for. Charlie didn't see much of her grandmother since she had retired to Florida, especially after her parents divorced. She wondered if her grandmother had ever met Connor and was about to introduce him to her, but when she turned around, Miles and Connor had both already moved into the breakfast room.

"Ah, just a bit. But I'm hungry now," she said just as her stomach rumbled to emphasize it.

"Well eat up, child, you're just skin and bones lately! But the sugars aren't good for you, a minute on the lips, a lifetime on the hips. I will see you later," her grandmother said, heading off towards the elevators. Charlie entered the breakfast room and gave her dad's room number that he had texted her.

* * *

When Connor entered the hotel, he moved to follow Charlie, but Miles had grabbed him and dragged him towards the breakfast room. Connor was confused, why would Miles care if he stuck close to Charlie? There was nothing happening, no way, she's too young. He was just keeping an eye on her after last night, making sure she was okay this morning and there were no side effects. That's all it was.

"Listen kid, my mother doesn't know about you and we're going to try to keep it that way. Mom didn't take it too well when Emma broke things off and since she still loves Bass despite all of his faults, we're just not going to mention you," Miles said. He started muttering more to himself, but Connor heard everything pretty clearly. "On top of distracting Bass without him figuring it out, I also have to find a way to keep her away from Emma."

"I thought my job was to take the boys out and let the adults not worry about them?" Connor had planned on taking them to the local funplex, where there were batting cages, arcade games, and go-karts. He assumed the boys would enjoy it and this way they'd burn off a lot of energy before the rehearsal dinner. The boys were only the ushers in the wedding and Connor wasn't a part of it, so he had the entire day free to keep the boys out of the way.

"Plans may change today. Can you just keep your phone on you and actually answer it today?" Miles said with an annoyed tone and Connor could tell he was referring to last night, but what did Miles really expect with them all being at the concert?

"Yeah. Now, who I am babysitting today and let's just hope they're more well-behaved than Charlie as a child," he said, remembering the mess that happened the one and only time he babysat Charlie.

Miles chuckled at the memory and shook his head. "Nah, Danny's a pretty quiet kid, unlike Charlie, and I really don't know Elliott and James that well. They're all good kids, honestly, it's just to keep them from getting bored here today."

Now Connor was rethinking his idea of taking them to the funplex. He just hoped, by the faces Miles was making, that these kids weren't nerds who looked like they avoided sunlight. That was not Connor and after hardly sleeping last night, there was no way he'd be able to keep his temper in check all day.

After helping himself to eggs and bacon, he moved to where Miles was sitting with a blonde woman. He sat down, not sure if he was now allowed to talk to her or not.

"Connor, this is Maggie, my brother Ben's wife. Maggie, this is Connor, Bass's son." Connor politely shook Maggie's hand. He tried to remember if he had ever met Ben, but it must have been years and he definitely didn't meet Maggie. At that moment, a man sat down in the chair next to Maggie and kissed her on the cheek, so that had to be Ben. He tried to see the resemblance between Ben and Miles and he thought he saw it, if he squinted. Connor politely introduced himself this time, and Ben laughed.

"You've grown up quite a bit since I last saw you. You were, what, 14?" Ben asked as he looked to Miles for confirmation.

"Hell, why are you looking at me? Yeah, it's been a while and yes, Connor's grown up."

"Still can't believe Bass and Emma," Ben started to say something but Miles immediately cut him off.

"Yeah and your one job today is to make sure Mom doesn't see Emma."

"What? Emma's coming? Were you trying to cause trouble?"

"Go big or go home?" Miles said.

"Considering Nora's parents were already fighting last night, I think you're definitely going big with this," Ben said as Charlie put her food down. Connor looked at it and couldn't believe how much syrup she had poured all over her waffles and then topped it with whipped cream and strawberries.

"Speaking of troublesome people, Grandma already told me I'm skin and bones and then lectured me on my sweet tooth, so anyone got bets on who she will insult next?" Charlie said as she dug in to her waffles.

Connor noticed Maggie had kept quiet and drank her tea slowly, observing the banter between Miles and Ben. He ate his own breakfast pretty quickly, feeling out of place at the table as Miles and Ben retold some of their stories about their mother. From what he was hearing, it seemed like their mother never hit them, oh no, they were rarely punished. Instead, she'd use her words against both of them and she continued that tradition with Charlie.

Connor was glad his grandparents were your stereotypical grandparents, with his grandmother always stopping by to bring delicious treats and knitting him sweaters that were perfect for an ugly sweater party, not that he would ever tell her that. His grandfather was one who would tell him about the good old days, but he never talked about the time he spent in the Korean War. He missed them and realized he hadn't been back to Jasper in a while. He wasn't planning on going home this summer since Mom was coming in for the wedding and then she was going to spend the week after at Dad's, but maybe he should. He snapped out of his thoughts when he heard Miles calling his name.

"Did you sleep much last night?" Miles asked.

"Enough. I'll take a nap later, no big," Connor answered.

"Don't worry about the boys, they'll be on their best behavior. They've been looking forward to go-karts since we told them of this plan," Maggie said.

Connor was surprised; he didn't know Maggie was British! He wondered how Ben had met her.

"Here," Ben said, handing over the car keys. "It's a rental car, so be careful. I didn't think you'd want to be driving Miles's Jeep with the three boys."

Maggie gave Connor the key to the hotel room and told him to just drag the boys out, they had already eaten breakfast. He was surprised that the adults were so easygoing and were just going to trust him. Charlie had just finished her breakfast when Miles handed her the key to the bridal suite, which was just down the hall from where Connor was heading. They both got up at the same time and Connor started up a conversation as they walked upstairs.

"So tell me about your brothers, since I get the fun task of keeping them out of the way."

"I don't see much of Elliott and James, since they live in Boston with Dad and Maggie. I pretty much only see them for a few weeks during the summer and whatever holidays Mom decides she doesn't want us. Danny's a good kid, he'll listen to whatever you tell him. But just watch him for me okay?"

"Watch him for what?" Connor asked, confused now, since no one else had mentioned anything.

"He has asthma and he gets attacks often. He's good at hiding it too, mostly because he doesn't want Dad to worry."

"So, then he'll be okay for whatever we're doing today?"

"Don't do laser tag, but otherwise he should be good."

They had reached the floor and Charlie was heading left, while Connor went right. As he walked down the hall, Charlie called out, "Text me if you're bored. I know I will be!"

Before he had left the house this morning, he had grabbed Dad's credit card for today's adventure, he'd worry about smoothing over the details later. Elliott, James and Danny seemed to be excited about their adventure and Connor just had to drive them and pay for it. As much as he wanted ride the go-karts too, it'd be better if he stayed back and watched, in case anything went wrong. That and, no, he was not waiting for Charlie to text him. No, he was being responsible.

The boys were done with the go-karts and had moved on to whatever the latest shooting game was. They were sitting down for lunch when Connor got several texts in a row.

"_You might need to get back here, my grandma found your mom. It's not pretty." _– Charlie

"_Where are you? Get home now." – _Dad

"_Get the boys back to the hotel and go home." – _Miles

"_Call me, no one's hurt, I'm fine." _– Mom

Well, there ended the fun.

* * *

Bass was looking forward to seeing Emma. With Connor an adult now and off in college, there weren't as many opportunities for them to see each other. They used to spend the holidays together as a way to avoid sending Connor on a flight by himself and they had more than rekindled their friendship. He wasn't sure if he could define what they were now, since they were raising their son together and seemed to make a good team, even if she was still in Jasper and he was still in Alexandria. He was just grateful that it hadn't ruined his friendship with Miles or even made things awkward when Emma came to stay with them.

Nora was surprisingly accepting of Emma as well and it was Nora's idea to invite Emma to the wedding. He wondered if Nora knew how much Miles's mom hated Emma. Maybe that was Nora's idea the whole time. This way the distraction would be on Miles's side as opposed to Nora's parents. He had heard stories of all the holidays they had ruined, even after their divorce.

He checked the flight status before heading to the airport and, seeing that it was running slightly late, he stopped at Starbucks on the way to pick up Emma's favorite iced latte and surprise her with it. He debated doing just a drive by pickup or parking the car and doing the right thing of carrying her bags out. The good guy won out and he walked inside, looking up where her bags would come out and making himself comfortable there. He saw her flight had landed and was now just waiting for her to come down the stairs. He was fiddling with his phone when he heard a "boo" from behind.

"You're getting easier to sneak up on, especially when you're on your phone," Emma teased.

"Hey yourself. How was the flight?"

"Flight was fine, not even any turbulence or crying babies for once. How was Connor's show last night?"

"Kid's good. The crowd loved them." Yeah, Bass was definitely not telling Emma about sneaking Charlie in and the aftermath of that. She wouldn't be able to keep the secret from Ben and, as a responsible parent, she would feel it was her obligation to tell.

"How's Miles holding up?" Emma asked as Bass handed her the iced latte so he could grab her suitcase off the carousel. She smiled and took a sip, following him towards the car.

"He's fine. Nora's got him on a tight leash this weekend."

"The better question, how are you holding up?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Bass asked. Why would he be anything but happy for Miles?

"Suddenly, you won't be the most important person in Miles's life. Don't think I didn't know this when he and I were engaged. I always knew I'd be second fiddle to you. But some might not be as accepting."

"I'm a grown man; I think I can handle it."

"Yet, you haven't lived apart from Miles in over 20 years."

"Are you trying to start up trouble here?" Bass didn't like where she was going with these questions and had hoped Miles had not told her what had happened after his family was killed. Emma always was a worrywart and that was a long time ago, he had his son now and would do anything for him. They reached the car and Bass almost flung her suitcase in the trunk, not enjoying this conversation and not looking forward to what else she had to say. At least Rachel wasn't coming because she was even better at making him feel guilty and terrible with just a look.

"No, just trying to see if I'm either going to get calls from Miles or Connor worried about you or your own drunk calls."

Bass chose not to respond to her last comment and she simply sat back and turned up the radio to drown out the awkward silence. Two could play at this silent game and it wasn't until they were almost at the hotel that he got a text from Miles asking where they were. Emma had grabbed the phone and responded that they were about to check in, which Miles responded with _"oh shit."_ Bass tried to think what Miles could mean with that, but without being able to see Miles or hear the tone in his voice, it wasn't always easy to read his mind.

That's when Bass spotted June Matheson coming off the elevator on a rampage to the front desk with Ben trailing behind her, trying to calm her down. Bass wasn't surprised that she was throwing a fit over something being wrong with her room; she always did have high standards and expected everyone else to follow them.

Miles came running out from the stair door, panting and out of breath. Meanwhile, Charlie was in a cover-up with her hair wet, so she must have just come out of the pool.

He tried to drag Emma back outside before June spotted her, but it was too late when he heard June's familiar shrieking voice.

"WHAT IS SHE DOING HERE?"

"Mom, calm down," Ben tried to reason with her.

"No, that harlot broke my son's heart and now she is here!"

Bass couldn't believe what she was saying right in front of Emma. Sure, Miles had warned him that his mother hadn't ever forgiven Emma and that he definitely did not tell her about Connor and the circumstances that led to the engagement being broken off, but he didn't think she'd go this far in public with everyone watching. She kept yelling nonsense and he had tuned her out, trying to figure out how he could help. Since he had become frozen and not sure what to do next and Miles and Ben were still trying to calm their mom down, Charlie was the one who walked right up to Emma and introduced herself.

He hadn't realized that Charlie hadn't met Emma, but Charlie also hadn't seen Connor in years. Charlie was apologizing for her crazy grandmother and Emma was just shaking her head.

Charlie poked him, "Hey, let's just take Emma back to the house and keep out of Grandma's way. Mia's got whatever needs to be done under control and since I can't drive, I'm pretty useless."

Bass nodded and led Emma back out while they waited for Charlie to change out of her swimsuit. Ben had managed to get June out of the lobby and back upstairs, while Miles came up to him to suggest that Connor can bring the boys back here and just spend the afternoon with Emma. Once in the car, Charlie babbled, asking Emma about Connor as a child and trying to get some embarrassing stories out of her.

* * *

Miles was just glad that they had decided to keep the wedding fairly simple. He couldn't imagine what would have happened if they had gone over the top. In reality, he only needed Ben, Bass, Connor, and Charlie on his side of the church. If it wouldn't have caused an even bigger wedge between his mom and him, he wouldn't have invited her, especially after what just happened in the lobby. If only Emma's flight had arrived on time or Mom had freaked out fifteen minutes later, this whole scene would have been avoided. He could use a drink now, but it was too early to start. He'd have to wait at least until the rehearsal dinner or Nora would kill him for screwing anything up.

Ben promised him he'd keep Mom out of the way until dinner, the boys were kept busy in the hotel room, Mia stopped by to let him know that Nora was writing out the last minute checks and confirming everything for tomorrow, and her parents were kept busy decorating the hall. Bass had texted him to let him know that Emma was revealing some more of their school stories to Charlie and Connor. Miles looked around and realized everything was taken care of and that he didn't need to do anything. He knew Bass had planned on taking him out tonight as one last hurrah, so Miles thought now would be a good time for a nap. He set his alarm for an hour before the rehearsal and drifted off.

When the alarm started beeping, Miles jumped up and took a shower, not really concerned with where everyone else was at the moment. He checked his phone and saw there were pretty much only messages from Bass, so at least there had been no other incidents while he had been sleeping.

The plan was for Miles to drive his mom, Ben would take the boys and Maggie, Nora would drive Mia and her parents, and Bass would bring Charlie. Emma and Connor had already decided they were going into the city for dinner and to see the monuments all lit up, so Miles didn't feel terrible about them not attending the dinner.

As everyone left the hotel on time, they all arrived on schedule, so at least there was no delay. The priest explained what was going to happen, where everyone needed to stand and the order. Since the wedding party was so small, Danny, Elliott and James had been volunteered to be the ushers. Most of the guests were Nora's extended family or colleagues from both of their jobs. Miles didn't have a large family and they certainly hadn't stayed in touch.

They moved on to the restaurant, with Miles and Nora sitting in the middle of the rectangular table. Miles kept glancing over at Bass and Charlie, who seemed to keep nodding and smiling at each other. What was going on between them lately? Then again, Bass and Charlie had been trying to perfect silent communication the way he had with Bass for a while now and they had just spent the last several hours together. At least Charlie seemed to be doing fine and there were no lasting effects from whatever had happened last night.

Before everyone started on their meal, he stood up and clinked his glass. He pulled on Nora's arm to signal she should stand up as well.

"Nora and I just want to thank everyone for all the work they have done to make this successful and that you are all here to celebrate this with us. Thank you and here's to a successful day tomorrow." He clinked Nora's glass before giving her a quick peck on the cheek and turning to clink with everyone else around.

After dinner, but before everyone left, Bass pulled Miles aside.

"I don't know what happened this afternoon, but Emma and Charlie have decided it might be better if Emma stays at the house and Charlie will take Emma's room for tonight. Was the original plan for Charlie to stay with Ben?" Bass whispered to Miles.

"You know, I don't even know. I kind of figured she'd want to spend time with him, but she's going back with them and spending two weeks before she heads back to Chicago."

"Still up for going out tonight? Connor'll drive us."

"I promised Nora I wouldn't get drunk," Miles said.

This was why they had celebrated the bachelor weekend several weekends before the wedding, so there would be no worries about Miles or Bass being able to get up and function the next day. The wedding would be stressful enough, Nora had been absolutely clear that Miles was not allowed to screw it up by doing something stupid.

"That's fine, we'll just have a few beers and call it an early night."

"Just don't mention it's the night before my wedding when we go out, ok? I don't need to be fending off rounds of shots or unsolicited advice from strangers," Miles said.

Miles was grateful Bass had chosen a small hole-in-the-wall bar and kept to his promise of just a few beers, with Connor picking them up at a reasonable hour. He was looking forward to the next day and just hoped everything would run smoothly.


	5. Chapter 5

**Here's the final chapter. Thanks so much to my beta hithelleth. Thank you to all of those who have read, reviewed, favorited, or followed. I don't own Revolution, this is just for fun. Enjoy!**

_June 2022_

The morning of the wedding Charlie made sure to set her alarm earlier than when Dad had asked her to meet for breakfast. She did not want a repeat of Friday morning. If she was lucky, she'd be able to avoid her grandmother at least until the reception. Unfortunately, she had been told to keep her grandmother away from Connor, otherwise she would have introduced them and let Connor deal with her grandmother. Better him than her.

She wasn't surprised when she walked into the breakfast room and found Dad and Maggie, they were both notoriously early risers. She helped herself to a huge stack of waffles and syrup with some eggs and bacon on the side before joining Dad at the table.

"What are you doing here so early? I assumed Bass would have slept in after whatever he had planned for Miles last night," Ben asked.

"Bass dropped me off on their way out last night. I guess Miles forgot to mention to you that I was going to take Emma's hotel room. Emma and I talked yesterday and Bass had offered to stay on the couch so Emma could take his room, but that didn't seem fair," Charlie answered in between bites.

"How come you didn't let me know and decided to leave it up to Miles to tell me?" Ben asked.

"Sorry, Dad, I forgot; it was late by the time they dropped me off, I had to go back to the house to gather up everything I'd need. Why did Grandma go off on Emma yesterday? She seems nice enough," Charlie said. Charlie had only heard mentions of Emma as Connor's mom and even then, Miles didn't really talk too much about her whenever Charlie visited. She was surprised Miles had invited her to the wedding, but assumed Bass had something to do with it.

"Miles hasn't told you?"

"Told me what?" Charlie asked, looking back forth between Dad and Maggie, who were glancing at each other with that look that said that they knew something and weren't about to reveal it too easily. She hated when adults did that.

"Miles and Emma were engaged before he enlisted. She broke it off and Miles took it really bad. He found out later it was because of Connor."

Charlie slouched down in her chair. She couldn't believe what her dad was saying, no way. She thought back to yesterday and how nice Emma was. If she broke it off with Miles because of Connor and Bass was Connor's dad, how had Miles even forgiven Bass? She shook her head, not really believing how complicated the whole situation was. She tried to remember how old she was when she met Connor and wondered how long before that Miles knew him. Never a dull moment with her family, she thought.

Dad and Maggie continued to read the paper while they drank their tea, trading the sections back and forth. Not surprisingly, the sports section was left on the table so Charlie grabbed that since her questions seemed to end the conversation. She didn't really want to bring up anything else, almost fearing what else she could learn over breakfast.

The breakfast room soon filled with other hotel guests and Charlie wondered whether she should head up to see if Nora needed anything or just wait around. Yesterday, Miles had pulled her aside and told her he might need her to keep Bass from doing anything stupid. She had laughed at that and told Miles it was impossible to stop Bass from doing something stupid, it's all he ever did.

She decided to wait until Danny came down at least since she hadn't seen much of him since he had arrived. Right on cue, the boys all showed up. She hoped they had fun yesterday, even if it was cut short because of her crazy grandmother.

Elliott and James sat down and jabbered on about all of the games they had played and who had led more laps as they had gone around on the go-karts. Danny took the empty seat next to her, picking at his food. She wanted to ask him about yesterday, but knew better than to pry, he'd tell her when he wanted. She watched him pick at the fruit, knowing their parents watched Danny's diet carefully and tried to get him eat more fruit. When Dad wasn't looking, she picked some of it off his plate and ate it, which earned her a smile from Danny.

She checked the clock and thought it was about time to see what she could do to help Nora. The hair and makeup people were coming in an hour, which meant she needed to be showered and ready to help. At least Nora didn't want to do any of the cheesy getting ready photos. Miles had said they wanted the pictures to be about the ceremony and the reception, not the prep work. That and Nora would probably not have the patience to deal with someone trying to get them to pose and be cutesy while she was more concerned about the wedding running smoothly, considering her parents were fighting on Thursday and Grandma had already gotten upset over Emma yesterday.

* * *

Miles woke up in Nora's apartment. No wait. Starting today, it was going to be THEIR apartment. That would definitely take some adjustment. Even though he pretty much lived at her place now, he always had his and Bass's house to go back to. Now it would be just Bass's house. The reality of leaving Bass hadn't sunk in yet. Sure, Bass was an adult, but was it only about his worry for Bass? They had been friends their whole lives and Bass knew Miles inside and out. Miles knew which buttons to push and Bass pushed them right back.

Nora was spending her last night as a single woman having a girls' night with her sister and was then staying at the hotel all morning to get ready. From now on, Miles would wake up with Nora as his wife; the mere thought of that put a smile on his face. He took a deep breath; this was what he wanted and needed in life.

Miles rolled out of the bed and rubbed his eyes as he woke up, not noticing the note on the nightstand until he grabbed the phone to check his messages. No messages, but the note was folded over with "Miles" written in Nora's loopy scrawl. He opened it slowly, still trying to focus.

_Miles,_

_Today is it. Remember, this is supposed to be the day we share with everyone. We have the rest of our lives to do what we want, but today we make our parents happy. Try to keep Bass in line__,__ and I will see you at the altar._

_Love,_

_Nora_

Miles wasn't entirely surprised by her note. In fact, he would have been more surprised if she hadn't left him some sort of instruction for him to find. He snorted when he reread the note; ha, like anyone could keep Bass in line. Bass knew he was supposed to be on his best behavior today, if only to keep the parents happy. He noticed how protective Bass was over Emma yesterday and was curious what was going on between them.

After showering and shaving, he called Bass to determine the schedule for the day. Charlie had already texted him to let him know the girls were locked away in the bridal suite and not to worry about spotting Nora. Miles didn't quite believe in superstitions, but Nora was adamant that they not see each other. Another tradition she was set to uphold was that he was not allowed to see her wedding dress. That didn't stop Charlie from gushing over the dress when she had first seen it and telling him just how beautiful Nora looked in it.

For once in his life, Bass was on time to pick him up. Miles spotted Connor and Emma in the back seat and he gave Bass a questioning look.

"Don't mind us, we will stay far out of your way. We were just planning on relaxing at the hotel before the ceremony," Emma answered.

Miles had forgotten that despite the years, Emma still could read him almost as well as Bass.

The car ride was silent. When they reached the hotel, Emma gave him a quick peck on the cheek, wished him luck, and disappeared with Connor following her. Bass pulled him off in the opposite direction to meet Ben.

Another thing Miles was grateful for was that Nora had taken charge of was planning locations. The church was across the street from the hotel where the reception would be held and where the guests had all booked rooms. It certainly made things easier when getting ready today, especially for their out-of-town guests.

He checked his phone again and before he could even see if he had new messages, Bass ripped the phone out of his hands and handed it to Ben.

"I don't think so. No more of your phone. I think this is the part where I'm supposed to be jokingly telling you it's your last chance to back out, but I've seen you with Nora and I don't think I've ever seen your face light up the way it does when you're with her. So man, this is it. You deserve it," Bass said, pulling Miles in for a hug.

When Bass backed away, Miles turned towards Ben, who couldn't stop smiling. "You know, Mom had pretty much given up hope on this day. In fact, about once a year, she asks me if you and Bass are a couple and that she would be very understanding if that were true." Bass snorted at that and Miles glared at him.

He wasn't entirely surprised by Ben's admission, considering he and Bass were constantly asked the same question by everyone who didn't understand that they were brothers to each other. They had always been there for each other and that was it. Then again, neither one of them dated very much. Miles hadn't for the longest time because he had still been hung up on Rachel and Bass had been a womanizer in his younger days before realizing that wasn't the life he wanted and took his time deciding what he did want.

It was finally time for the wedding to begin and Miles watched the guests fill the church, surprised at how their simple wedding still had this many friends and family in attendance. They had chosen not to have a flower girl or ring bearer. No one they knew was quite the right age and they didn't want to ask a friend's child just to have someone fill the role.

First down the aisle was Charlie. Miles knew that Charlie was growing into a beautiful woman and would soon be breaking everyone's heart. If anyone tried to break her heart, well, she would have the support of her uncles Miles and Bass to back her up. As she walked down the aisle, he was amazed to see how much she had grown up. To him, she would always be the little girl who managed to almost destroy his house every time she came to visit.

Mia was next and Miles could tell Nora had put a lot of thought into choosing a dress that would complement both Charlie and Mia. The dress flattered both of them, but now his eyes were glued to the back of the church, waiting for Nora and her father to come out. The minister asked the guests to rise as the wedding march began. Miles took a deep breath and watched as Nora came walking out.

She looked absolutely breathtaking. He couldn't believe how lucky he was that Nora had agreed to marry him. When he briefly took his eyes off of Nora, he noticed that both his mother and Nora's mother had tears in their eyes and even he had to blink a few times, just dust in his eye, no he was not crying.

The ceremony was traditional. Neither he nor Nora wanted to write their own vows; they both felt their parents would appreciate tradition more and, honestly, Miles felt the traditional words were more than enough. He wasn't always the best with his words, Bass was the smooth talker.

* * *

Bass watched Miles walk down the aisle with new wife and he didn't think he had ever seen Miles so happy. Nora looked positively radiant and Bass was slightly jealous that Miles had finally found the one who made him happy. Bass almost had his own happy ending years ago with Shelley but it ended up not working out and there had just been flings in between. Shaking his head back into reality, he reached his arm out to Mia to walk down behind Miles and Nora.

They moved off to a side hallway in the church, waiting for the guests to clear out before taking some pictures in the church. The photographer started telling people to move in different directions, trying to get all of the different group photos: the wedding party, the bride's family, the groom's family, the bride and groom, the parents, the women, the men. The pictures seemed endless and Bass realized they'd have to repeat all of this again at the hotel where the reception was being held. When Miles had showed Bass the hotel, the first thing he had commented on was how nice the atrium would be for pictures. Miles mentioned this to Nora and of course, that's exactly what they planned on doing. Why had he opened his big mouth?

Charlie seemed to be doing fine this morning and he was glad that she had switched with Emma so that Emma wouldn't be subjected to June's wrath any more than she had to and he was able to sleep in his bed, otherwise he would have been the gentleman and given it up for Emma. He still wasn't quite sure what their relationship was; they were close but just friends, or so he thought.

Finally, they were done with taking pictures. Bass opened his mouth and stretched out his jaw, it hurt from smiling so much. He followed Ben and Charlie into the grand ballroom where the guests were currently mingling around for cocktail hour. He spotted Connor and Emma towards the back of the room and he made his way back towards them.

When he reached them, Connor handed him a glass of champagne. Bass was about to tell Connor to lay off the alcohol since they were in public but Emma leaned over and whispered, "Just let him drink during the toasts. Give him your car keys, then he'll keep off the alcohol the rest of the night."

He was surprised Emma was going along with Connor drinking; usually she was the one who stopped Bass from giving Connor too much. Bass pulled his car keys out and handed them to Connor, which was what he had planned to do all along. Bass had scheduled the limo to take Miles and Nora back to their apartment after the wedding, but he had also arranged for a car to drive him back afterwards. The wedding was an open bar and after Bass made his speech, he was going to take advantage of it.

The lights dimmed and everyone moved to frame the entrance, as the DJ announced the newlyweds. As they entered, Bass looked around the room, noticing how weddings seemed to make everyone happy. The guests headed back to their seats as Miles, Nora and the wedding party moved to the head table. Bass gave Emma a quick hug, telling her to save a dance for him as he joined the others at the head table, sitting between Miles and Ben.

Since the ceremony was in the late afternoon, dinner was being served first before the wedding would continue with all of the traditional dances. Nora had insisted Miles learn how to dance properly for their first dance and Bass laughed at the memory of Miles grumbling before and after every dance lesson. Nora was good for Miles, definitely better than him being hung up on Rachel. Yeah, Miles had never come out and said how much he had been in love with Rachel, but he had admitted to Bass that he had always felt partially responsible for the demise of his brother's marriage.

As the guests were being served their dinner, the DJ came over and handed Bass the microphone. He clinked the glass to get everyone's attention before starting the speech he had prepared, taking one last deep breath.

"First, Nora, you look radiant today. I just hope Miles is able to make you this happy for the rest of your life. Miles, you and I have been friends since we were in kindergarten when you destroyed my block castle," he paused here when he heard Miles snort, but continued. "There's not many people who will put up with you for that long, but Nora is an amazing woman and I'm glad the two of you have found each other. A bit of advice – happy wife, happy life. Here's to many years of happiness for both you."

Bass raised his glass and took a sip of champagne before handing the mic back to the DJ, sitting back down to wait for his food to be served. After dinner had been served and the guests had mostly finished eating, the DJ announced it was time for the couple's first dance. As the music started to play, Bass made a face, wondering who chose Shania Twain's "From This Moment On." Most likely not Miles.

When they were younger, they had joked about making a mockery out of their weddings and choosing all non-traditional songs for all of the traditional dances. Of course, Nora would have put her foot down at any of their suggestions because this wedding, as much as it was about Miles and Nora, was for their parents. Bass watched Miles lead Nora around the dance floor and how much those lessons obviously paid off. Sure, they were simple dances moves but at least they moved gracefully around the dance floor.

At the end of the dance, Nora's father cut in to begin the traditional father-daughter dance to "I Loved Her First" by Heartland. He hoped Miles had made an interesting song choice for the mother-son dance, but he knew that Miles would have gone with something sweet to appease his mother, which is why he wasn't surprised when Boys II Men's "A Song For Mama" started as Miles pulled his mother out to the dance floor. The DJ transitioned to another song Bass couldn't remember the name of. Ben got up and asked Charlie to dance so Bass followed by asking Mia to dance as well. He didn't know Mia that well and she was much too young for him, but she was good at dancing and followed his lead, even if he wasn't the best dancer. They danced a few more songs until the dance floor began to fill up with everyone and her father cut in to steal her away.

Bass went to the DJ to request some songs before heading towards the bar to grab a rum and coke for himself and a glass of wine for Emma, noticing that she and Connor were still chatting at their table. He sat down next to Emma and handed her the glass. She smiled.

"You remembered," she said, taking a sip.

"What, that you always prefer a nice glass of red wine to anything else? It's all you ever order when we're out."

"Just didn't think you were paying attention," she smiled again with a smile that seemed to melt at Bass's heart.

"I always pay attention to you. Always have," Bass said, reaching to caress her hand.

"You two are ridiculous. I'm going to go find somewhere where I won't feel like I'm going to throw up," Connor said.

Bass watched him stalk over to where Charlie was sitting with her brother. He hoped that whatever was going on between Charlie and Connor was going to stay as just friends. After seeing Connor this week and how protective he had become over Charlie, Bass thought he'd need to have a nice chat with his son later.

Finally, one of the songs he requested came on, "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch) by Four Tops. Hopefully the next song up would be another one he requested, "My Girl" by The Temptations. He got up and held out his hand towards Emma.

"Dance with me?"

"I'd love to," Emma replied, downing the last of her wine before grabbing his hand and being led out on to the dance floor.

"You didn't need to finish the glass."

"Can't exactly bring it out on the dance floor."

"You remember how to shag?" He asked her.

"You did teach me at the wedding we attended where everyone thought I was Shelley, thanks for that by the way," Emma said as she let Bass lead the dance.

"Traditionally, the dance is meant to have one hand free for beer or whatever you're drinking when you're on the beach."

"Like I need another reason for June to think I was the worst thing to have happened to Miles."

"Well it's obvious she doesn't know the real you. Besides, look at it this way, everything turned out okay in the end," Bass, trying to reassure her.

While Bass danced with Emma, he saw Connor dragging Charlie out to the dance floor as well.

* * *

With his parents being all cute together and making eyes at each other, Connor moved to sit with Charlie. Most of the wedding guests were people he didn't know very well. Sure, a bunch of them were Miles's and Dad's coworkers, but the majority of them were people he had never met before. Charlie was someone he knew and was able to have a conversation with and maybe he'd be able to dance with. He saw the looks some of Nora's cousins kept giving him and he wanted no part of whatever they were scheming.

"Hey, what's up?" Charlie said when he pulled out the chair next to her.

"Had to get away from my parents. They were making faces at each other."

"Do they normally?" Charlie asked and that made him think.

When he had first found out about his father, he had wanted nothing more than to get them back together. Miles had initially laughed at the idea and told him to give up. Then he had found out the circumstances surrounding his birth and the exact details of why Mom hadn't told Dad and understood why there had been no hope in trying to get them together. But somehow over the last few years, his parents had grown closer and they seemed to toe the line between friends and lovers. Connor wasn't a child anymore, it's not like they needed his permission to do anything. He assumed they just didn't want to cross that line and ruin what they had managed to build back up over the years. Or put him even more in the middle – too bad, he was already in the middle.

He thought about Charlie's question and realized that it wasn't uncommon to see them flirting with each other lately. He knew his dad had had other relationships years ago, he had met a few of the girlfriends but nothing had lasted in a long time. His mom would go on a few dates here and there but even that seemed to slow down lately. He almost wished they'd just admit they loved each other and get it over with.

"Lately, yeah, I guess they do."

"Better than them fighting. I remember how bad it got before my parents finally divorced. Hey what are they doing?" she asked and Connor noticed her staring at them dancing.

"They're dancing," he said, surprised she'd even ask such a simple question.

She sighed. "Obviously. What kind of dance? It seems to have a pattern to it, but I don't know it."

"Oh, they're shagging," he said and Charlie nearly spit out what she had been drinking.

"What did you just say?"

"Shagging." Connor answered again, just to see what her reaction would be this time.

"I thought that's what you said. What is that?"

"Dad always said it was the state dance of South Carolina," he said, watching his parents dance around.

"But aren't both of your parents from Indiana?"

"Yeah, but Dad spent some time stationed in South Carolina. One of the local bars had a shag night and he learned it while he was there. He and Miles had spent a lot of time at that bar and Miles was not big on dancing, so the girls would always drag Dad out on to the dance floor. Want me to teach you?" Connor asked, hoping she'd say yes.

"Sure, you know it, too?" Charlie asked with surprise in her voice.

"There's lots of things you don't know I can do," he said mysteriously as he led her out on to the dance floor, just as "My Girl" was starting.

Charlie wasn't the most graceful person; he remembered her being quite klutzy as a child, but she followed his lead well enough. A few more songs were played that they were able to keep shagging along to before some more recent dance songs came on and Charlie left to drag her brother and stepbrothers out to dance with them. Nora's cousins, who were about their age, joined their growing circle. The DJ must have noticed what songs kept the floor dancing because he kept playing similar ones. It definitely wasn't Connor's usual music, but he enjoyed dancing and he tried to find his parents to see what they were up to, but they must have left the dance floor when the DJ switched the styles.

A few more songs and Connor was getting tired, so he offered to go get a drink for Charlie from the bar. He would have liked to be able to have a beer right about now, but he felt the keys in his pocket and knew his dad was trusting him to get the car back safely. Dad had told him about the car so at least Connor wasn't responsible for finding his dad at the end and only needed to make sure his mom got home.

As he made his way over to bar to get Shirley Temple for Charlie and a virgin Pina Colada for himself, he spotted his parents sitting back at the table, more glasses on the table and them whispering like a couple of high school kids. Connor had never seen his parents drunk together and he wasn't sure he wanted to see it if this was how they ended up. It was just about time for cake, so Connor made his way back towards the table, but turned to sit at Charlie's table, since Maggie had gone to sit with Ben and the guests were all scattered at this point. He wasn't much for all of the ceremony of the wedding and really didn't care for wedding cake, but out of tradition he ate some.

When the DJ put some of the more upbeat songs back on, Dad had come over to him, telling him not to worry about his mom, she would leave later and for Connor to leave whenever he felt like it. He was a little skeptical about the reasons behind his mom staying with his dad, but hey, at least he could just leave when he wanted now.

It was finally time for the lovely couple to have their last dance, which was "I've Had the Time of My Life" from Dirty Dancing. Connor watched Miles spin Nora around and how happy both of them looked. He looked at his parents who had been holding hands ever since they started dancing. Seriously, what had gotten into them tonight?

The song ended and the guests all filed out to throw birdseed at the happy couple as they drove off. Connor wasn't sure where they were going for their honeymoon, but he thought Dad had mentioned something about going to Hawaii. Rather than stick around too long, Connor said his good-byes to his parents and Charlie, definitely not wanting to go anywhere near her grandmother. Ben had stopped him to thank him for once again looking after the boys the day before.

Once he got home, he climbed into bed and fell asleep right away, not even hearing his parents come in. He had assumed they would have made a lot of noise coming in; Dad wasn't exactly the quietest drunk by any means.

When he woke up in the morning, he walked down the hallway slowly and quietly and wasn't surprised to find both bedroom doors closed. Even though Miles was in the process of moving out, he would always think of that room as Miles's. As much as it would be an adjustment for his dad to not have Miles around, Connor was also used to having Miles here and it was nice to know that when his dad wasn't home, Miles was there for him too. Now he'd have to go down the block to Miles and Nora's apartment.

He moved downstairs to start the coffee pot and headed back upstairs while he waited for it to finish brewing. Just as he reached the top of the stairs, he saw Mom coming out of Dad's room, wearing one of Dad's oversized t-shirts. Oh shit. What had happened last night? Connor definitely didn't want to think about it. He ran straight for his room, pulled on a pair of jeans and a T-shirt, ran back downstairs to pour himself coffee to go and drove straight for the hotel. He didn't think he'd be able to eat home this morning and if he was lucky, Ben or Charlie would be awake and distract him from thoughts of his parents doing that at home.

Rationally, he knew they were adults, but at the same time, his parents hadn't been together in over twenty years. And even then it was just once and here he was. He shook his head. No, he did not want to think about it. Luckily for him, it was early enough that the hotel breakfast room was quite empty. He flashed the spare key Mom had given him and walked through, spotting Ben and Maggie at a corner table.

"Do you mind if I join you?" he asked Ben.

"Not at all. What are you doing here so early?" Ben asked and Connor wasn't sure what to say. The truth? No.

"Just grab your food, don't mind us. I think Charlie's on her way down soon so you won't have to worry about us old people," Maggie said.

"I wouldn't call you old," Connor started.

"That's sweet of you," Maggie replied, turning back to the papers while Connor grabbed a plate of bacon and eggs.

Connor ate his plate in silence while Ben and Maggie read the paper. Just as he was about to help himself to seconds, Charlie came in. She moved straight to the French toast and doused it in syrup. He walked towards her to say good morning and just shook his head when he saw how much syrup she had put on her plate. He piled his own plate up with more eggs and grabbed a muffin before sitting back down with Ben and Maggie, who were patiently waiting for Charlie to join them.

As soon as Charlie sat down, Ben got up, gave her a kiss on the forehead, and left with Maggie following. She was silent at first, but Connor couldn't handle the silence. He needed something to distract him from the thoughts of his parents and whatever happened last night.

"You keep shaking your head. What's up?" she asked.

"I can never understand how you can eat anything with all that sugar."

"I don't know, I like sugar?" she said, almost unsure of the answer. She frowned though and questioned him again. "There's more to it. What are you not telling me?"

"I saw my mom coming out of my dad's room this morning wearing his clothes. I have no idea what happened between them last night, but they were all flirty at the wedding. I didn't even want to hear whatever explanation they have, so I took off to come here."

"If you were anyone else, I'd tell you it was normal for parents to sleep together, but I know your parents have never been conventional. That and I just learned that you mom used to be engaged to Miles, which was why Grandma freaked out on her earlier."

"Ah, so now you know too. Dad spilled the beans on me ages ago. No idea how he and Miles still managed to be such good friends."

"Dad always says there's too much history between them for them to ever be rid of the other one."

Charlie finished up her French toast while Connor cleaned off his plate. He figured it was about time for him to head back home and face whatever his parents were going to try to tell him. Or maybe they would just ignore the whole thing.

Before leaving, he turned back to Charlie one last time and said, "Don't be a stranger this time. You've got my number, keep in touch, ok?"


End file.
